


Shigure’s Nightmare World (AKA How Katsuya Attempts to Protect His Daughter from Beyond the Grave)

by Kyotosummer



Category: Fruits Basket, Fruits Basket (Anime 2019), Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki (Manga)
Genre: Nightmares
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:28:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24830857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyotosummer/pseuds/Kyotosummer
Summary: Shigure may have thought he had gotten his own free wild card to foil Akito's goals by bringing in Tohru Honda, but a spirit from the other side has a few things to say about that.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	Shigure’s Nightmare World (AKA How Katsuya Attempts to Protect His Daughter from Beyond the Grave)

There wasn’t much in this world Shigure Sohma wasn’t prepared to face. From being able to turn into a dog, to fighting a political war and even committing one of the largest taboos in said political war and come out of it with only a minor exile issue (that really wasn’t much of an issue because he could go back anytime he wants, he just couldn’t live there full time… for now), Shigure had experienced more crazy antics before the age of thirty than most would experience in a lifetime. Sure, his schemes had set his goals back quite a bit, but most of that was moresoe the fault of the head of the family than his own. If Akito hadn’t switched things up with Kureno like that, then the status quote would have been the same.

But that was the past, and this is the now. And right now, this dog is setting up his chessboard very carefully. Stealing some pawns for his own and arranging it so they’ll never even want to go back to that side of the board. It won’t be easy, and it might take several years if it ever works at all, but Shigure intends to either get what he wants, or his work will create an act of revenge that no one in the Sohma house is prepared to face. Either way, he will come out on top in the end. 

At least, that was the plan when he set things up for Yuki to live with him. Now his house is suddenly full of unexpected teenagers, one of which being an outsider to the entire Sohma clan. An outsider who happened to know Yuki, and is slowly getting him to open up in her circle of friends. She also seems to have an affect on Kyo, who went from always speaking his mind no matter how rude to attempting to think before he speaks, and even correcting himself if he thinks he was too harsh. He’s only doing it for this unexpected guest, but it’s definitely a start. 

She’s even gotten in Kagura’s good graces. He’d have thought Kagura would have insisted on being bitter rivals, what with her interest in Kyo, but by the end of her visit, the two girls were actually on their way to becoming friends. Interesting.

Tohru Honda… She’s certainly proven herself to be a wild card. A wild card who could present him the opportunity to stir up Akito’s little world much faster than he planned. 

It was with these thoughts that Shigure was lulled to sleep that night. No doubt he’d dream of a world where everything was going his way and he’d come out of this entire mess on top, with Akito’s will once again synced with his own...

…or he could find himself in a white room that went on forever with no entrances or exits, only a single office desk appearing in the space.

Looking around the area, Shigure wasn’t sure what he should be doing to get out of the dream. Usually even his nightmares were based on certain subconscious thoughts and fears he was able to understand and manipulate back to either a pleasant dream or waking himself up. This time, however, he couldn’t figure out what his subconscious was attempting to project. 

“Hello? Anyone there?” He called. No one answered. 

Unsure of what else to do or how to even wake up (how is he not awake yet?), Shigure walked over to the desk and started looking around. Being the only other thing in this space, he figured it could at least have some clues as to where this dream was coming from. Looking through the drawers, he finally found a picture frame face down. Picking it up revealed an image of a small family on the other side. The woman with the orange hair bore a striking resemblance to Tohru’s mother, Kyoko. Deducting the rest, he assumed the small child was a young version of Tohru herself. This meant that the man with the dark hair had to be her father. Needless to say, the picture only raised more questions than answers. 

“You seem to be quick to pick up on things. That should make this easier.”

Jumping about three feet in the air from the unexpected noise, Shigure dropped what he was holding on the desk and leapt to the other side. Turning around, he found the man from the photo standing behind the desk chair, rotating it around to sit down and stare at him like he was undergoing an assessment. Composing himself from the scare, Shigure straightened himself up, putting on his without-a-care smile and lazy posture. This was his go-to stance when he wanted the people around him to let their guard down as he attempted to gain the upper hand. 

“I’m sorry, and you are?”

The man relaxed in his chair, clasped his hands on his desk, and smirked. Shigure didn’t like that smirk. He recognized it as the same smirk he used when he believed he had someone right where he wanted him. 

“My name is Katsuya Honda. I’m Tohru’s father, and as much fun as it would be to play this little cat and mouse game with you, **_Shigure-san_ **, I’m just going to go straight to the point. While I appreciate you inviting my daughter into your home and providing her with a safe space to live while she finishes her studies. I will warn you, if my little girl gets hurt because of your schemes, I will make sure you never get another night of rest again for as long as you live.”

Without warning, the space was suddenly drenched in darkness. At first, Shigure could only hear indecipherable whispers, which began to multiply in number and volume. Red eyes began glowing and popping up everywhere around him, staring at him and never blinking. Shigure stood still through all of it, refusing to show any weakness to the man in front of him. This was still his mind, and he will not be swayed by a mere nightmare. 

Suddenly the whispers stopped. He braced himself, expecting some kind of monster or other crazy nightmare cliche to come out at him. That’s how these things usually work. 

He didn't expect to hear a painfully familiar voice whisper so close to his ear he could feel her breath say “Do you honestly think I’ll let you back inside after what you’ve done?”

Jerking to his right, he could only see a silhouette in the darkness, but he knew that silhouette. A hand reached out, fingers loosely wrapping around his neck. No emotion in its grasp, which was the most unsettling part of it all. 

The figure continued to whisper, “Do you really think I’ll ever want to see you again? That I’ll ever want to embrace you? You filthy creature. You deserve a fate worse than the cat, but that would mean I’d still have to deal with you. I don’t even hate you anymore. I only feel nothing when I look at you. I feel nothing… nothing… nothing …. Nothing…..”

“OKAY! OKAY I GET IT!” Shigure finally screamed. He could handle screaming, monsters, wounds, whatever. He could not handle hearing her whispering voice and feeling her touch, no emotion in either one. He could only describe it as torture. 

As fast as the darkness originally appeared, it vanished. He was once again in the white space, standing in front of Katsuya Honda, still sitting at his desk in the relaxed pose. 

“Understand, you’re not special for knowing how to manipulate your family’s politics. I am in your mind. I actually know your fears, your desires, your goals. I can make sure that any time you fall asleep, you will experience nightmare after nightmare, only waking up when your alarm goes off, and yet you will have had no rest. This isn’t a situation you can negotiate your way out of. Your peace of mind is my hostage, and if you want to keep it, you will meet my demands:

  * My daughter will continue to live under your roof until she finishes highschool, unless she finds a place she feels more at home at, and leaves of her own will.
  * She will be protected from the politics of your family. No harm will come to her just because you have decided to allow her to live under your roof for your own plans. 
  * You will make sure to look out for her and guide her as you have so far. This discussion is only between myself and you. You will not take any frustrations out on her. 



So long as you follow these demands, your evenings will go the same as usual. You might even never see me again, though I have my doubts.”

And with that, Katsuya stood up, pushed the chair in, and started walking towards a door that definitely hadn’t been there a moment ago. As he reached for the handle, he turned back to Shigure with an afterthought. 

“Oh, and one more thing. My wife insisted that these demands also extend to the Kyo boy. Apparently she has a soft spot for him. I’m not sure why.”

A nervous chuckle escaped Shigure’s lips, “That one… might be a little harder to pull off.”

Katsuya just smirked at the comment. “Well, it’s a good thing you’re so _knowledgeable_ at politics and manipulation, huh?”

And with that, he opened the door and left the room, the door closing behind him. The second it clicked shut, Shigure’s alarm went off, violently waking him up. Panting heavily and drenched in sweat, he realized in that moment that he signed up for WAY more than he realized by bringing in this new wild card. 

Tohru was very confused when Shigure presented her with a lovely western-style bed and bed set a week later. She tried to refuse the offer, but he was able to get her to finally accept it. If it meant no more nightmares like that, he’ll spoil her like she were his own kid for the rest of his life. 

**Author's Note:**

> This is an idea that's come and gone in my head for years, ever since the original chapters revealing Katsuya's character were released. His personality always reminded me of Shigure's, and it made me REALLY want a situation where the two were able to meet. (Though I don't think they'd like each other very much at first.)
> 
> This was also to help me deal with the fact that Shigure is known to spoil Tohru, which was also confusing. I mean, he clearly has some guilt over the fact that she's the biggest sweetheart, but to actually get her such nice things as a bed would cause a lot of hassle, including getting Tohru to even accept it. I wanted to think of a reason why he would go through as much trouble as he has for her, when he really doesn't do that to anyone else (except MAYBE Hatori & ***** (after the series)).
> 
> Comments are welcome, but please try to avoid adding spoilers the new anime hasn’t revealed yet.
> 
> Hope you have fun reading!


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